Sat, 12 Jan 2019 23:47:31 -0800WeeblyMon, 06 Apr 2015 21:21:36 GMThttp://www.americasschoonercup.com/stories-2015/april-06th-20153SCRIMSHAW" It is amazing to me that out of many Schooner Cup races since 1981, this was the best of all those years.

The highlight of the day for Scrimshaw was as we approached Point Loma Light with the anemometer at 23kts. we looked astern to see Curlew to windward and Martha to leeward as we entered what I call knockdown alley. I decided that, and the rules state that I can, take Curlew up to windward as necessary, which we did. However when I saw that Curlew was out of control, her decks awash; as we were, I fell off to encounter Martha ducking below us like a freight train.

Soon after Scookum lll overhauled us on the low side. All I can say in summation is that the fleet included some of the most powerful schooners ever assembled on the west coast and they all showed what the true Corinthian spirit is.

I commend the race committee of Silver Gate YC and especially my very good and old friends Susan and Paul Mitchell for this outstanding event." ]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2015 21:20:05 GMThttp://www.americasschoonercup.com/stories-2015/april-06th-20152SKOOKUM IIISkookum and the Pull Tab

The crew has been working hard on Skookum III getting ready for the America's Schooner Cup race, hosted by Silver Gate Yacht Club in San Diego. Paint, varnish, canvas, scrubbing and polishing. The binnacle sparkles. Practice, practice, practice.... Sail, sail, sail. Fisherman to golly wobbler and jib sail changes from the deck sweeper to the Yankee. Tacking, jibing... More, more... Faster, faster. The crew have been sailing together a long time; they are in tune with Skookum's mysteries and hidden pleasures and disappointments. The recut main sail's 30 bronze sail slides have been machined, filed, dremeled, and polished to a state where the sail drops into the lazy jacks of its own weight when the halyard is cast off. The longest new batten is 54 inches long, 2.5 inches wide and tapers from 1/8 to 1/4 inch at the leech.

The Skipper and Sail Master are at the skippers' meeting as the crew removes the covers, swabs the deck, and gets ready for sea. At the meeting it is confirmed that the course is familiar. Start at buoy 19 near the Shelter Island boat launching ramp, then seaward to buoy 4 and 3, then return with several intermediate marks that keep us to the west side of the channel and sometimes hard on the wind.

The after guard huddles for a discussion of the wind and wave predictions, the tides, the course and the sail inventory, then the crew hanks on our largest jib, a deck sweeper Genoa. Skookum's jib stay and fore stay are 5 feet apart. It can be a challenge to tack the 33 foot long sail thru this space consistently. Before each tack the crew must raise the fore stay sail so it can guide the deck sweeper into the slot. We have practiced this procedure. Five crew members are wearing red sail ties around their waists for use in sail handling such as tacking the deck sweeper and fish to golly changes. They are the "Red Belt Gang", our sailing quick reaction force.

Away from the dock, sails up, engine off - we have over an hour to sample the wind and test drive the starting line. The bay seems crowded with 13 schooners maneuvering among the Saturday noon traffic.

The five minute warning sounds as the Class A schooners maneuver for advantage at the line. Curlew, Rose of Sharon, Martha, Skookum and Fame all head for the favored end of the line. Added together, their overall lengths total 318 feet, longer than the starting line. We are way early, so a quick tack and a jibe, then we run the line on starboard tack. The crew eases sails as we slow down.... No brakes here!

Will the start sound before we cross the end of the line??

BANG! We cut inside the end of the starting line and escape having to go around to make a new approach. We are on time, but with low boat speed and our competitors well to windward.

The Sail Master calls trim as we build speed and the helmsman steers to the windward mark. The schooners all look perfect with precisely trimmed sails powering to the mark. Martha is rumored to be the fastest schooner on the west coast, but carries a low rating that matches her reputation. Curlew and Rose of Sharon are always competitive. What a great day. Blue skies, brisk wind, and relatively little tidal current. There is palpable energy in the air as we contemplate tacking the deck sweeper and the fish to golly change.

The crew is tense but confident. We have work to do but this is what we have trained and practiced for. As we clear Point Loma, the waves build to 3-4 feet. Not a serious concern, but our deck sweeper is scooping up about 30 gallons of water with each passing wave. The strain on the sail is enormous. We expect it to explode with each wave.

What to do? All eyes are on the Skipper. Will we continue with the deck sweeper until the weight of the water destroys it? Change to a smaller jib? Either will cost us the race. It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. A quick discussion, then an athletic crewman moves forward with the boat hook which he positions under the foot of the sail at its point nearest the water, then levers the pole, pulling the bottom of the sail above all but the largest of the waves. Skookum carries on another 150 yards, then tacks. Disaster adverted, we keep racing.

Tacking the deck sweeper is a challenge. Tom at Ullman Sails has sewn a pull tab on the sail about 2/3s of the way aft from the luff and about 4feet above the bottom of the sail. A 3/8 inch braided line leads from the tab forward to a small snatch block shackled to the jib stay about 18 inches above the tack of the sail. As we tack, the pull tab crewman hauls the line, pulling the sail forward and creating a belly to help the deck sweeper squeeze between the stays. The Red Belt Gang has already done their work - the fore stay sail is up. We will raise and lower the fore stay sail 8 times during the race.

We are flying a large sail plan for the conditions. At times the helmsman, having used up all of the available rudder travel, is calling out to the main sheet trimmer " you are steering the boat". We are sailing faster than we ever have! The gps flashes occasional double digit speeds as we race on.

Back behind Point Loma, the wind turns flukey. Skookum slows as we are headed or lifted while seeking marks near Point Loma. At buoy 15 we struggle to round the mark and it looks like we'll have to tack away and return, but we squeak by, propelled more by the inertia of our 66,000 lbs. hull than by the wind.

Skookum trades tacks several times with Curlew and Martha until Curlew pulls slowly ahead and Martha falls behind.

The finish seems anticlimactic. The Skipper is well pleased with the crew and the boat. We have sailed our best. We think we have done well, but no one is predicting a win. We sail for a time, seeming to collectively release the breath we have been holding and with it the tension of the race. Then sails down, covers on, back to the dock and on to Silver Gate Yacht Club for the results.

The crew is subdued, but satisfied. Hopeful but not smug. The other schooners have been expertly sailed in a great race. When the results are announced we have finished first in Class A, with Dirigo correcting out to win the Schooner Cup. Everyone cheers for Dirigo! She is a wonderful boat, beautifully sailed.

That fish to golly change? Never happened...... We had more than enough sail area without the golly wobbler.

A half-hour before the start of the 27th Annual Schooner Cup, the wind picked up from its early morning doldrums to a steady 8-10 knots. The gaff schooner Regulus won the 11:30 C-Class start with Maid of Kent close to windward. Scrimshaw was the third schooner across with with tall ships Californian and Bill of Rights bringing up the rear.

As we sailed out of the harbor to Buoy 4, Californian quickly charged to the head of the fleet, reporting speeds over 9 knots. The wind picked up around Ballast Point and built to 15-20 knots before reaching the end of Point Loma. Californian rounded Buoy 4 first, hardened up, and headed into the wind and chop. Scrimshaw had passed Maid of Kent by staying in stronger winds on the west side of the channel, and rounded Buoy 4 shortly after Regulus. After her rounding, Maid of Kent tacked to take advantage of the favorable wind and tide. By the time Maid of Kent had slogged to the windward Buoy 3, most of the fleet was in sight.

The strong winds had made for a very confused sea-state, and blew out the jib and main on schooners Fame and Shine On, respectively. To the skippers credit both schooners finished under reduced sail. The tack line on Dirigo II's main gaff topsail had also come free in the windward leg. Intrepid crewman Ian Allaway scampered aloft, wrestled with the luffing sail, and retied the line as the B-fleet schooner was the first to round Buoy 3 and head back into the harbor.

Maid of Kent was the second schooner, and first in C-class, to round the mark and make for Buoy 9. About half of the fleet of schooners, all reaching impressively on the strong westerly breeze, passed the Maid of Kent before Buoy 9. Near Ballast Point, the vessels in the front of the fleet started bearing off significantly from the previous course as a large northerly header forced the fleet to beat up to Buoy 15. Shortly after Maid of Kent passed Buoy 9, the header hit and then moved further out the channel. This forced the boats in the back of the fleet to throw a few tacks to make Buoy 9, slowing them considerably and splitting the fleet.

In the beat to Buoys 15 and 17, Maid of Kent caught up with her C-class competition passing Scrimshaw and gaining valuable time on Californian. Californian surged away in the reach to the finish line, but the plucky blue schooner, Maid of Kent, would finish first in C-class on corrected time.]]>Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:22:55 GMThttp://www.americasschoonercup.com/stories-2015/april-01st-20152DIRIGO IIAmerica’s Schooner Cup 2015

What a day! After sailing down the coast from the San Juan Islands Washington last October and spending the ‘winter’ (no winter) up in the beauty and wildness of the Sea of Cortez, we had stopped at the customs dock in San Diego to check back into the U.S. of A.Paul Mitchell, from the Silver Gate Yacht Club came over to our boat, said Hi, and invited us to the upcoming race, sponsored by their club. A race just for schooners, how could I resist! I’m glad I didn’t!! At the skippers meeting the afternoon before, Jerry said it looked like it was going to be a little cooler than usual for race day, resulting in some fresher breezes. He was sure right. We got a pretty good start, with everything up that we could carry. The wind built as we made our way out of the bay, and by the time we were rounding buoy 4 out past Point Loma, it was blowing 20-25 knots with a decent sea running. Perfect for the heavy built for the sea Dirigo II. We had the rail down, with water squirting up through the gunnels and spray flying, making 11 and a half knots steady! Just as we started really moving our main top’sl tack let go in a puff, and our crew Ian went aloft and retied the bowline, hanging from the triadic to grab the flapping sail with the line in his teeth. We elected to harden up and head out to try to lay the next mark, buoy 3, on one tack. It paid off. We barely got over the Schooner California, having a time of it short tacking around bouy 3. As we came back into the lee of Pt. Loma the wind got fluky, with lot’s of gust and holes. California got a big bone in her teeth and came charging up to leeward. Damn that boat has a big bowsprit, especially when she’s making 10 knots just barely off your quarter. But we got a lift and escaped being impaled. Dropped the big genny and set the jib top’sl, and after some close tacking in around the sub base buoys, bait floats, and guys fishing in tiny little skiffs (we barely missed one, lucky guy), we charged off down the channel, crossed the line and got the gun. Curlew did manage to sneak by us at the last minute, and the course ran out before we had time to catch her, oh well. It was a great day, with a great crew, a great boat, and sponsored by some of the nicest and most gracious people I’ve ever met. Silver Gate Yacht Club, you’re the best. The post race gathering and dinner was first rate! When it came time for the “awards”, I could have fallen over. Seems we got real lucky and won First in Class B, and, unbelievable, First Overall!! Who would have thought. I just didn’t want to hit anybody and didn’t want the super fast and beautiful Schooner Martha (also down here and Mexico from the Pacific Northwest, frozen north) to pass us, again, and they didn’t. I guess it’s true that every dog has a day now and then. I’m glad of that and it was super fun! A great Day of sailing with great crew, beautiful schooners, and sponsored and organized by some of the nicest and most gracious people I’ve met. Thank you Silver Gate Yacht Club for making this happen. For the 27th time! And for a very good charitable cause to boot. Think we’ll try to make it up to San Francisco for the Master Mariners Race at the end of May. I’ve decided not to beat back to the frozen north this season. Even though it is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. My daughter Morgan and I have a little charter biz out ofFriday Harbor, San Juan Island, with our “classic” boats. San Juan Classic Day Sailing. Private charters in the San Juan Islands, and Day Sails. Going to stay down here where it’s warm and people sail all year! Hope to take some people out for some unique sailing adventures with us as we cruise and race from San Diego up to the Channel Islands. A day, or a week, or ??. Come join us. Plus it’s a lot closer to the Sea of Cotez for “winter” from here. The Dirigo II will be here to race again next year. Too much Fun.Who knows, might get “lucky”.But fact is, just feel lucky to be here doing something I love. Good enough.Thanks again all the people at Silver Gate for making it happen.

Aside from the obvious, the opportunity to connect and sail with other Schooners, what continues to impress us the most is the hospitality of the Silver Gate Yacht Club and how well the event overall is managed.

The race this year provided conditions that varied form rail down sailing to ghosting calms, which makes for an exciting combination and draws on all ones skills.

Class A, despite some wide variance in ratings, actually was a pretty tight boat for boat race, making it all the more interesting. The addition of the two tall ships this year, The Californian and Bill of Rights, was great and I am sure made the event much more spectacular for the shore side spectator.The fact that the event drew the Schooner Martha and Dirigo II from the Pacific Northwest speaks highly to the status the event is achieving. We have April 2nd2016, set aside in our calendars.

Best Regards

BobRobert A Harrison Jr.Captain / Owner]]>Thu, 02 Apr 2015 00:18:37 GMThttp://www.americasschoonercup.com/stories-2015/april-01st-2015MARTHAA view of the America’s Schooner Cup from MARTHA’s helm.The morning of the Schooner Cup revealed an overcast sky with a thick marine layer blanketover San Diego. The forecasts from various sources predicted wind West North West 7 to 10 with one outlier predicting West 12.The decision was made to bend on the Genoa, MARTHA and crew motored out to the start line for a 1200 hrs start. By 1130 the wind was well over the 7, 10 and 12 knot range and approaching 15. After consulting with the crew we decided not to switch gears down to the working jib and stay with the Genoa, which with hindsight was the wrong decision.

The start was brilliant as CURLEW and FAME were on the line with the gun and MARTHA close on their heels. With the sail power and waterline available to CURLEW and MARTHA we quickly left our little sister FAME behind and fetched our way to the # 4 turning buoy.

MARTHA, with a bone in her teeth, working right up to within feet of CURLEW’s quarter wave, the two girls in lock step as if we were attached by a powerful bungee chord.

As we approached the # 4 buoy the tactical talk turned to how to get by CURLEW who was every bit as fast as MARTHA and well sailed. CURLEW’s master and crew had no intention of moving over and letting us by, as we came up they covered and shut the door and the same for trying to sail through their lee. It was decided to split from CURLEW, if she tacks to port at #3 we stay on starboard, if she stays on starboard tack we wait for advantage and go over on port, lay the #3 buoy and head for the barn.

Our moment came as CURLEW over stood buoy #3, as we came up into the wind to tack we could see CURLEW doing the same to cover us , but it was a few boat lengths too late, MARTHA now commanded a 3 boat length advantage as the two thoroughbreds raced back into the bay past Point Loma.

And here the earlier decision to carry the Genoa began to show its unfortunate down side. The “power” fore reaching up into Point Loma was made a bit dicey by the gusts that would make its way down through the canyons and lay MARTHA down on her rail, we would respond with feathering up or easing the sheets to try to keep her on her feet. In the cockpit we were seeing boat speeds in the high 9s. But where things really got tough is when the wind hauled forward and our return the the bay became a beat.

Tack on tack with an over powered Genoa was not what we had planned on and tack on tack the other schooners made their way up and over us. With a bit of disappointment we realized the jig was up we were not going to be able to hold off our sisters but what a beautiful sight to see, the ROSE of SHARON, CURLEW, FAME, SKOOKUM III and DIRIGO II well sailed on their way to the finish line.

On the behalf of the crew of MARTHA and the Board of Directors of the Schooner Martha Foundation I want to thank the Staff and Members of the Silver Gate Yacht Club for their warm and generous hospitality and such a well run and fun event.

Cheers.Captain Robert d’ArcyTeam MARTHA]]>Fri, 13 Mar 2015 21:50:37 GMThttp://www.americasschoonercup.com/stories-2015/what-makes-schooner-racing-funWhat makes Schooner racing fun? It is said that if there are two schooners in sight of each other, there is a race. The race is not to win a prize but to see just how good we can get our boats to sail. And maybe, just maybe, sail faster than the other boat. It is competition, yes, but friendly competition. If I lose, so what, I had a good time trying. But if I win, by gosh I’ll toast the other schooner with a tot of rum. And let him finish the bottle. The America’s Schooner Cup is sailed for glory. Sure, if you sailed good enough to win the Cup then good for you. But for the rest, it is for the glory of sailing the world’s most beautiful boats ever built among a fleet of like vessels. And for those on shore watching, we are giving them a bit of nautical history. Our hats are off to honor the schoonermen and women who lovingly care for their boats and grace the bay for all to enjoy. This year we are looking at some great competition among both the Class A and the Class B boats. Curlew, Dauntless and Rose of Sharon, all closely matched, will be trying to take the Cup away from Skookum III but will have to sail better than Martha. Fame and Martha, both designed by Crownenshield about the same time but with vastly different waterlines will be in a duel of their own. In Class B there will always be the friendly competition between Maid of Kent and Scrimshaw but look out for Lively. Among the gaffers there is the fast America being chased by the handy Regulus, both trying to outdo the Californian and Bill of Rights. The history of the Schooner Cup has proven that any boat of any size can win the cup. All the rest have had a lot of fun trying. ]]>